Hold (Gentry Boys, #5)(34)
She stared at me for a few seconds and then a genuine smile touched her mouth. For a moment I could see the resemblance she bore her sister and it made me glad I’d said what I’d said.
“Thanks, Creed,” she said softly. “Not just for this, but for being a good man for my sister. I was damn sorry I missed your wedding.”
I shrugged. “No worries. You know, Tru loves you and your boy like crazy and anything we can do for you guys we will.”
She nodded and her gaze shifted away as her thin eyebrows drew together. “You will,” she said in a vague voice as if she was talking to herself. “And she will.”
“Well, yeah,” I said, feeling at a loss because the girl had apparently switched directions and gone weird again. “Good night.”
I’d returned to bed feeling a little strange about the whole thing, but since I wasn’t the least bit psychic it wouldn’t do any good to sit up fretting over it. The next thing I knew it was dawn and my wife was huddled in the corner with a baby in her arms, trying to sing softly enough not to disturb me.
“So what’s on your agenda for today?” I asked, snatching a shirt off the floor and pulling it over my head.
“An exam. I’ve got to be up there by nine. I swear I’ll be back by eleven.”
“Okay,” I shrugged, a little puzzled why she was giving me her soft-eyed sheepish look.
“You were planning on being around, right?”
“Yeah, I guess. Was going to work on some songs and maybe hit the gym.”
“But you’ll watch Jacob until I get back?”
“Watch Jacob? You mean babysit? You taking Mia with you?”
“No,” she said softly and kissed the baby’s head. “She’s so tired, Creed. Please.”
I almost told her about my run-in with Mia in the middle of the night. I also almost blurted out my theory that her sister wasn’t the most stable or sane person ever. But as I saw the sad look on Truly’s face I figured she was already well aware of Mia’s precarious mental state. She’d always described Mia as soft-hearted and rather fragile, the one Lee sister who had the most trouble bearing up against life’s battering rams. It suddenly struck me that I’d seen that type before. Maybe that’s why last night’s short conversation left me so unsettled. Meridian Lee in all her wounded instability reminded me of Maggie Gentry.
Truly was right. There were occasions where honest words should be spoken.
And there were others where they were better left unuttered.
“I’ll watch him,” I promised, crossing the room to wrap my arms around her briefly. “Just let me shower and get my eyes open a little wider.”
Truly rested her head against my shoulder and my hands traveled up and down her back while my dick decided to perk up and say good morning. But since there was also a baby wedged between us, now was not a good time for fun and games. Truly knew my moods too well. She rolled her eyes and blushed.
“Behave,” she warned, backing toward the door.
“Been behaving for days,” I grumbled “I think my parole hearing is coming up.”
“It is, I promise.” She got up on her tiptoes and gave me a quick kiss on the lips. “You really are a prince.”
I tucked a lock of black hair behind her ear and let my fingertips linger on her cheek. “Only because you made me one.”
She gave me long, loving look and shook her head. “No, Creedence. You always were.”
Goddamn, I married the right girl.
The time to be sentimental ended abruptly when Jacob decided he was hungry and started thrashing around.
“Please don’t take long in the shower,” Truly said as she opened the door. “I’ve still got to get ready.”
“I’m quick. I’ll be in and out before you know it.”
She smirked. “You’re never quick.”
“I can be anything, including quick, so stop teasing me before I make you go put that baby down so I can prove it to you.”
She giggled and patted Jacob as he settled down. As she headed down the hall with the kid over her shoulder, Jacob made gurgling noises and I could swear he was laughing at me. Truly paused at Mia’s bedroom, opened the door, peeked inside, and then withdrew with a sigh.
I really could be quick when I wanted to be. I jumped in the shower, jerked off to get rid of my stubborn boner and got cleaned up all within five minutes. As I was getting into a fresh set of clothes I remembered that I had yet to fill my brothers in on this latest turn of events. I wasn’t a phone talker and this wasn’t really the time for lengthy explanations so I shot Cord a text asking if he wanted to meet for lunch. I was about to text Chase but then remembered he’d be working all the way downtown. Anyway Chase wouldn’t have let it go if he thought there was news. He would have called me every three minutes until I spilled my guts.
Truly was curled up on the couch feeding Jacob a bottle. The pair of them looked so serene and perfect together I was sorry I’d hustled through getting ready because I knew she would now reluctantly get up and leave.
Once she handed the baby off she went straight into a whirlwind of showering and dressing. There was hardly a woman on earth who could look as good after three hours as Truly could look after twenty minutes. She looked in on the sleeping Mia one more time, fired off a rapid fire list of instructions involved in the care of Jacob, then blew me a perfumed kiss on her way out the door.